Yearly Archives: 2008

Zora And Nicky: A Novel In Black And White

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Zora and Nicky: A Novel in Black and White
by Claudia Burney
Publisher: Cook, David C.
Pub. Date: April 2008
ISBN-13: 9780781445504
416pp

From Publishers Weekly

The voice of beautiful Zora Nella Hampton Johnson-her name echoing the author of her favorite novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God-will take you up and carry you along until she utters her very last syllable. Anger, laughter and delight come from Zora’s sharp, sassy tongue as if she is talking out loud. Burney’s gift for voice is not limited to her heroine, though it takes her longer to get the other main character, Nicky Parker, the handsome but poor son of a racist pastor, to shine as distinctly as Zora. At this novel’s heart are love and race-what happens when a self-described BAP (black American princess), the daughter of a famous megachurch leader, falls in love with a young white man. Zora and Nicky’s dialogue about race is unflinching, with attitude, honesty and occasional humor. Burney pushes her prose to the edge of the edgiest in the “Christian fiction” genre, and then barrels right over. She doesn’t sugar-coat, especially when it comes to sex, yet she manages to create a love story that’s both erotic and chaste. Faith in Jesus comes to life on the page through Zora and Nicky’s intense, if imperfect, soul searching. Though parts are a bit melodramatic, Burney gives readers a page-turner for all audiences, Christian and beyond.

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This book was a page-turner, as I felt as if I were being taken back in time. Although the novel is contemporary, I felt a lot of the racial stereotypes portrayed went back into historical times. A lot of the talk about race, made me think about things I’ve been hearing about Blacks and Whites since I was a child. For example, the Black jockey statue that was seen in Nicky’s yard, I’d wondered if the younger generation, like people in their twenties, would have ever seen a black jockey before? I’ve seen them, of course, knew about them, but I can honestly say that I haven’t seen one in a long time.

If you want a read that touches upon just about every racial stereotype from slavery times to current times, then this book is for you. The romance is sensual and chaste at the same time, and Burney did an excellent job of showing how these two young people are so deeply attracted to each other.

The novel was moving and gripping and I read it in one day.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Heading Out Of Town!

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Going to North Carolina this weekend to drop my son off to spend a week with his grandparents. I’ll also be heading to Chicago next week to be in my sister’s wedding! So, my blogging over the next week will be kind of spotty. I do plan on selecting winners for my last book giveaway this weekend, and I also plan on blogging about Zora and Nicky soon!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Signed!

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I signed two copies of my contract, and I’m placing those in the mail tomorrow.


I also forgot to mention that I read a very thought-provoking book last weekend. It’s a little bit different than what I usually read. It’s called Zora And Nicky and it’s about an inter-racial couple and the problems that they face. The author is Claudia Mair Burney. I plan on blogging about this novel soon, as soon as I can gather my scrambled thoughts!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Cover Art Sheet

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I’m filling out the Cover Art Sheet for my novel entitled Milk Money. The tentative release date is January 2009. I’m letting my publisher know that I imagine my cover looking like this:

An attractive African American man in a business suit holding a briefcase. He’s standing beside an attractive African American woman. The African American woman is wearing farmer’s clothing (like overalls). There’s a red barn, cows, silos, and maybe a cornfield in the background.

I’m just using my imagination here, trying to help the art department to come up with an appropriate cover!

We’ll see what happens! It’ll be months before I’ll receive my cover for this book, but I’ll be sure to post once I get it!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Heaven by Randy Alcorn

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Heaven by Randy C. Alcorn
ISBN-13: 9780842379427
Pub. Date: October 2004
From Barnes And Noble.com:
Synopsis
We all have questions about what heaven will be like. Randy Alcorn helps answer some of these questions by sharing his extensive research on the topic—all from a biblical perspective. His writing will surprise readers and stretch their thinking beyond anything they’ve imagined heaven to be like. And Heaven will help readers strive for eternity while they’re living on earth.

I’ll be blogging about this book here and there, every once in a while. Reason being, it’s a non-fiction title, and for those that know me well, I don’t read a whole lot of non-fiction, and when I do, it’s usually in bits and pieces over a span of time before I finish the entire book. I just started this book, and I’ve only read a few pages so far. Here are my thoughts about what I’ve read.

I think it’s kind of sad how a lot of Christians have a skewed view of Heaven. Randy used the skewed example of Heaven as it was portrayed in Tom Sawyer, and also, he gave an example of a clergyman who had skewed view as to what Heaven was really like.

Another thing he mentioned, which I felt was pretty bad, was that in a lot of seminary and divinity schools, they don’t really teach a required course about Heaven, and if they do, it’s as an afterthought, after focusing on other study items. Randy said that Heaven is living in a New Earth in our resurrected bodies, and usually clergymen, and others, don’t portray Heaven as such. Surprisingly, I have studied this aspect of Heaven before (long story as to where and why) so this information was not new to me.

The pastor at my church did a series on Heaven and I believe he stated he got a lot of the information from his sermons from Randy’s book. My pastor said that Heaven would be living on a New Earth with our resurrected bodies. A lot of this is goes back to Revelations (I believe it’s chapter 21?), but I don’t have the exact chapters and verses in front of me.

If you’ve read this book, I’d like to know your thoughts and opinions about it. It’s hard to say when I’ll be finished with the book, though.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

My Book Is On Barbour and Heartsong Websites!

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My novel is now on the Heartsong Presents and Barbour websites! It won’t be available to order until about a month from now, though. But, get this, if you’re looking for a novel that won’t break your wallet, then you need to check mine out! It’ll be selling for $2.97 plus postage and handling, and you can’t beat that price!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

One More Sunrise by Michael Landon Jr. and Tracie Peterson

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One More Sunrise
By Michael Landon Jr. and Tracie Peterson
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Pub. Date: January 2008
ISBN-13: 9780764203626
384pp

From the Publisher
After his dreams of being a WWII flying ace are dashed, Joe settles for a dead-end job, crop-dusting his neighbors’ farms and finishing out the evening slouched at the bar in the local tavern. One morning Joe’s usual crop-dusting routine turns into something else entirely when his beat-up Stearman begins a long spiral toward earth…. Joe doesn’t die that morning, but he begins an odyssey whose twists and turns head him back toward life, love, and true devotion.

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This book was really different because it focused on an aspect that I don’t see in a lot of Christian fiction these days, angels. The story involves an angel, but I don’t want to say too much to give the story away.

I was drawn into the story right away and I wanted Joe to mend his rift with God instead of visiting the local tavern every Saturday night. Joe also has a rift to mend with his family. His marriage and his relationship with his teen-aged son is suffering, and as you watch the Joe interact with his family, you realize how bitter he feels about not being able to serve his country in the military. He has a dream of being a military man, but his hopes are dashed from the moment he gets his enlistment physical. Joe’s relationship with his parents is also stilted, and he’s struggling with trying to make things right with his parents again. Joe’s life takes another nosedive when Luke, his high school nemesis, and former admirer of Meg (Joe’s wife), comes back to town. Luke (a business man) claims he wants to make things right with his hometown since his father has done some terrible things to the inhabitants in the past. Joe is threatened by Luke’s sudden presence in the town as he unjustly accuses Meg of having feelings for the suave good-looking business man.

When he’s flying one night, something hits his plane, and he wonders if he’s going to live to see another day. What happens afterwards makes you stop and wonder about God’s grace.

This book was a nice, heartwarming read that I think you will enjoy. I was also curious as I read this novel since it was written by Michael Landon Jr. and Tracie Peterson(one of my favorite authors).

~Cecelia Dowdy~